Monaro Climate Control blower fan stays on

[sjr56]

I have had this intermittent fault for a few months. The blower fan comes on at full speed and cannot be controlled by the speed up/down buttons on the climate control panel. All the other climate control features seem to work OK. When you turn the engine off the fan stays on at full speed. The only way to stop it is to pull out the appropriate fuse under the bonnet.
Then the problem just goes away for weeks, thus preventing any diagnosis.
After 3 months with no problems it occurred again on Friday. This time I had a meter handy. With the ignition off I pulled out the blower relay and this didn't stop the fan (and the relay wasn't energized).
After reading some postings on other GM forums I became suspicious of the blower resistor pack, so I removed the glove box and started pulling at the connector plug on the pack. At this point my neighbor came up and distracted me. I put the fuse back in to demonstrate the problem to him - and of course the problem has gone away again.
I don't really want to replace the resistor pack on the off chance (a clever 3-wire electronic device and it is all sealed up so you cannot look inside for shorts or loose connections). I suppose it might be a short somewhere in the wiring loom (there is quite a lot of this on other GM forums).
Has anyone else experienced anything like this?
Has anyone got a climate control wiring diagram? I found a couple online for Pontiac GTO, but there are evidently different to mine.
Steve

[JoyCV8]

I had the same problem on my Monaro about 2 years ago although it was permanent for me, replacing the resistor behind the glovebox sorted it (sourced from Speed4u as they seemed unavailable new at the time).

[L2VXR]

I've not had this problem with a monaro but have experienced it with a vw golf where the speed control didn't work and the fan would only run at full speed, I repaired it by replacing the thermal fuse on the resistor pack on the motor at a cost of penny's from Maplin. hope you find a similar solution.

[sjr56]

JoyCV8 said:

I had the same problem on my Monaro about 2 years ago although it was permanent for me, replacing the resistor behind the glovebox sorted it (sourced from Speed4u as they seemed unavailable new at the time).

Many thanks JoyCV8. As a matter of interest what year is your CV8? Mine is 2005.

[JoyCV8]

Mines an 04 model, pretty sure the resistor pack is the same on all UK models. I did manage to open my old resistor up to find a small strip of what looked like a fuseable metal link rattling around inside but was unable to repair it.

[sjr56]

Postscript - Received a second-hand blower resistor pack from 4-Block Pty in Aus today, put it into the car, and it works! Only one concern - the old one was working today also! So only time will tell if this is a permanent fix.

The post office left me a card saying I had to collect the parcel from the local sorting office in order to pay £16.04 import duty. This seemed quite a lot for something that only cost £46 including shipping. However, went down and paid it. When I looked at the calculation of the fee on the outside of the box, it was apparent that the actual import duty was only £8.04, but the Post Office have charged me £8 to collect the money from me!

But thanks all for the help.

[ARAF]

sjr56 said:

....but the Post Office have charged me £8 to collect the money from me!

That's for the documentation that Customs insist on having completed. Commercially, that documentation can easily cost ten times that much - though the economies of scale from having a lorry load, rather than just one box, makes it worthwhile.

[Phase_K]

sjr56 said:

Postscript - Received a second-hand blower resistor pack from 4-Block Pty in Aus today, put it into the car, and it works! Only one concern - the old one was working today also! So only time will tell if this is a permanent fix.

Has this permanently resolved your issue? Can you describe what the part is that you replaced as I have the same intermittent issue, although turning off the engine and restarting normally does the job. Mine is an 04 'ro as well.

I don't suppose you have any pictures of where the resistor goes?

[sjr56]

Phase_K said:

sjr56 said:

Postscript - Received a second-hand blower resistor pack from 4-Block Pty in Aus today, put it into the car, and it works! Only one concern - the old one was working today also! So only time will tell if this is a permanent fix.

Has this permanently resolved your issue? Can you describe what the part is that you replaced as I have the same intermittent issue, although turning off the engine and restarting normally does the job. Mine is an 04 'ro as well.

I don't suppose you have any pictures of where the resistor goes?

I fitted the resistor pack back in December and the problem hasn't recurred in 3 months, so it is certainly beginning to look like a permanent fix.

They call it a 'resistor pack', but it isn't really. I think it is a 'chopper circuit' that is controlling the current to the fan according to a voltage signal received from the climate control computer. It has just three wires connected to it. Two thick ones passing the current to the fan, and a thin one which I presume is the control voltage.

I don't have a photo but it is located on the passenger side behind the glove box, so you first have to remove the glove box. This is done by opening the glovebox and gently removing the rubber stops in the sides of the glove box - they kind of slide a bit and can then be withdrawn. Be careful they are easy to break. This allows the glovebox to drop open to a lower angle. You can then pull the glovebox off. The hinges are in fact plastic or rubber grips that snap onto a fixed rail at the back. Pull the glovebox from one side first and it should pop out.

You can then see the blower fan up on the left and the 'resistor pack' high up on the right hand side, bolted to the ventilation ducting. Disconnect the connector. Two nuts or screws hold it in place. It can then be withdrawn and examined. Mine had the part number Air International 06-22998 Q, and a Google search reveals that 4block are still selling second hand ones for AUS 62.95. Evidently the part is fitted to a number of vehicles in the Holden range - particularly the Calais, which is a more common vehicle than the Monaro!

Good luck! Let me know how you get on.

Regards

[sjr56]

PS - I contacted my local Vauxhall dealer to ask for the part, and they initially had no idea of the part (or of my car), but they later called back to say they could get hold of one for GBP 100 + VAT. I told them I could get one from Australia for half the price including carriage.

[ARAF]

sjr56 said:

PS - I contacted my local Vauxhall dealer to ask for the part, and they initially had no idea of the part (or of my car), but they later called back to say they could get hold of one for GBP 100 + VAT. I told them I could get one from Australia for half the price including carriage.

And they said "So can Vauxhall."

[surfluds]

Just to keep this info fresh, have exactly the same problem as original poster.
Removed the resistor pack to have a look, not much to it but to difficult to read the component numbers for replacement. Will check them out when I get a new one delivered, may be cheaper to replave componenets than a unit from Oz.
Ordered a 2nd hand one from Australia £39 + 20 postage. they are hard to find, specifically the climate control version 0622998
Product: Heater Fan Resistor
Condition: Used
Brand: Air International
Part Number: 06-22998
Product fits the following -
Make: Holden
Models: Monaro Statesman Calais
Removed from a VY will also fit VZ WK WL
Body: Sedan Wagon Ute Coupe
Notes-
Suit Climate Control

SKU: M-06-22998
Brand: Air International

[sjr56]

Yes, that is the one. It should fix your problem. It did for me. I wonder why a new replacement cannot be bought? You would think this component would be common across many different car models.